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Democrats have a Koch problem

By LISA BOOTHE

May 11, 2014

As Senate Democrats brace for what looks to be a bruising election cycle, Majority Leader Harry Reid remains hellbent on demonizing David and Charles Koch as a central part of his campaign strategy. He is even planning a vote in the Senate to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, citing the brothers’ campaign spending — which could top $125 million this year, according to a new report in POLITICO — as one of the reasons. But as Democrats gear up to make the Kochs the boogeymen of 2014, their strategy faces some real problems.

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Election season has barely begun, but Democrats have already launched an all-out assault against the billionaire brothers. Reid’s Senate Majority PAC has spent millions of dollars in campaign ads attacking them, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee unveiled a digital campaign called “The GOP is addicted to Koch.” Vulnerable Democrats across the country have made the brothers a central talking point on the campaign trail. Reid has even taken to the Senate floor to attack the Kochs, calling them “power-drunk billionaires” and “un-American” and accusing them of “trying to buy America.” So far, Reid has mentioned the Kochs at least 100 times on the Senate floor.

But if you pull back the curtain on the Democrats’ Koch brothers’ song and dance, you find that the premise of their campaign is not only flawed but actually underscores how hypocritical the party is when it comes to campaign finance. The reality is that it’s the Democrats who have a Koch problem.

Despite the millions in ads and the invective from candidates, a recently released Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows the brothers are relatively little-known. Half of the Americans surveyed don’t recognize their names, and a paltry 21 percent have negative feelings about them. Moreover, at a time when Americans list the economy and jobs as the top issues they are facing, demonizing these two individuals seems trivial. And in many of the states where vulnerable Democrats, like Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, have made the brothers a campaign theme, many voters owe their livelihoods to Koch-owned enterprises.

Lisa Boothe is senior director at the Black Rock Group. She has worked as a communications director for Republican candidates and members of Congress.